Once a week, sometimes twice, Carlo Ancelotti receives a long email about Chelsea's performances from an old AC Milan team-mate, Stefano Borgonovo.
Filled with admiration, Ancelotti reads intently. He knows that Borgonovo, an athletic man immobilized by Lou Gehrig's Disease, has painstakingly constructed the email through blinking at letters on a computer screen.
Now Ancelotti spearheads a campaign to raise funds for research into the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suffered by Borgonovo, whose goal at Bayern Munich swept the Milan of Ancelotti, Marco van Basten and Paolo Maldini into the 1990 European Cup final.
"He was a good striker, not a lot of skill outside the box, but inside the box he was like [Filippo] Inzaghi – very clever,'' recalls Ancelotti, sitting in his office at Cobham. Chelsea's coach is one of football's good guys, someone who has achieved so much (two European Cups as a player, two as a coach with Milan and the Double at Chelsea) and yet remains remarkably humble.
He just feels honoured to be involved in this great game. Ancelotti talks enthusiastically about football people, about why the Brazilian Ronaldo made him laugh and why Kaka took his breath away. He voices his respect for Sir Alex Ferguson and explains why he called a truce with Jose Mourinho. He says John Terry can play as long as Maldini and reveals Chelsea will rest leading players before big matches in Europe.
Europe. In a wide-ranging conversation, even embracing his esteem for the Queen and Margaret Thatcher, many of Ancelotti's musings focus on Europe. Behind his desk is a single picture, a wonderful photograph of him cradling the European Cup at Milan. The competition obsesses him.
"The Champions League is the most important trophy in Italy. Milan have a fantastic tradition: played 11 finals, won seven. Here in England it is different. The Premier League is very important. But for us, for this season, the Champions League is more important because we won the domestic title last year and the FA Cup. We are focused on the Champions League. For the owner [Roman Abramovich], it is the same.''
Certain stars will be omitted from those Premier League games preceding major European ties. "That's our way. We want to use turnover. We have a lot of games.'' He will still rely heavily on certain players, certainly on Englishmen like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole. "The English player has fantastic mentality during training. I've never seen such a culture. They work really very hard. As a captain, John is the same as Paolo Maldini: he leads by example on the pitch – not with the word. He doesn't shout.
"Of course, now John's 30, we have to pay attention to him and he has to pay attention to himself. We have to control his training like we did with Maldini. Maldini had more of a problem compared to John. He had a lot of problems with his knee. John can play as long as Paolo, who won the Champions League at 39. When he retires, John can be a coach with Ashley Cole as assistant coach!''
Ancelotti loves his English players, their sacrifice for the collective cause. "It is very difficult to find a talent who plays for the team. Maldini did. Van Basten was a bit different; he was more for himself. Zidane used his quality for the team. Kaka does. Kaka is a special Brazilian. His mentality is European.
"Usually, a Brazilian doesn't like to work hard in training, doesn't like to stay focused. I trained a lot of Brazilian players. I had a problem with Ronaldo at Milan. It was not easy to get him fit! Ronaldo was 100kg but was the quickest in the 10 metre test!
"I have never seen a talent like Ronaldo. He always scores, scores, scores. The first game he played for Milan, Sienna away, I said to him: 'I can't put you on the pitch, you are 100kg'. 'Mister', he said, 'don't worry, I will score'. I put him in and he scored twice.
"Ronaldo was a fantastic guy, humble and very frank, and really funny. One time we played Cagliari and before the game I asked him: 'Do you know the name of the centre-back of Cagliari?' 'No'. 'No?! You are not a professional. You have to know the skills of the opponent. You have to know the name of the centre-back'. 'Mister', said Ronaldo, 'I don't know the name of the player I play against. But he knows me'!'' But back to another Brazilian. "I never saw Kaka before Milan bought him. After he first trained with us, I called [Milan vice-president Adriano] Galliani. 'This is a fantastic talent'. Kaka is very quick and strong. His skill was different from the Brazilian players. He was not so talented, but he is very effective player.''
The well-educated Kaka formed what appeared an unlikely friendship with the rather less sophisticated Gennaro Gattuso. "Kaka as a character is strong. He's 'European': he likes to work hard, stay focused. Gattuso is the same. He has a problem when one team-mate is not so strong. Gattuso is a leader. He has no skill but his heart is big.''
Ancelotti does not miss Serie A's travails. "In Italy, football is too important. There is more pressure on coaches, teams, directors. Now is not a good moment for football in Italy. The stadiums are not full, there are problems with violence, it's very difficult with the ultras. People don't go to the stadium just to enjoy 90 minutes of football. People go to the stadium to fight, to win. Here in England the atmosphere is different. I know that after Heysel there were a lot of (hooligan) problems here. Margaret Thatcher did a fantastic job. They put in very strong rules and everyone respected these rules. In Italy, people don't respect the rules.''
Ancelotti loves life at Cobham, at Chelsea. The players love him because of his feats as a player and coach, because he can relax and share a joke with them. "I like to be funny. I can't stay all the time focused, disciplined, controlled. Behaviour like that is impossible. If the players are too nervous before a game, I have to relax them, calm them.''
John Obi Mikel has responded to his promptings. "Last season, he had an average of 18 per cent forward passes and in the three games this season he had 38 per cent. He's trying to put more balls directly to strikers.'' With 14 goals already, Ancelotti's Chelsea has become the great entertainers. "Our objective is to stay top and play good football. Our job is to give enjoyment to people. Football is not so important. Football is not like politics. I am happy when my team plays well. This is my aim, not to look in the mirror and say 'I am the best'. There are a lot of things I could do better. Tactically, I have to do better. I am not considered the best tactically.
"Ferguson is the best because he has fantastic experience; he stays 24 years at Manchester United. To stay 24 years at one club means he has done a fantastic job. In Italy, it is impossible! I was at Milan for eight years and everyone was surprised I stayed eight years! Bologna changed the coach before the first match of the season! Crazy!''
Job insecurity was discussed when the elite coaches met in Geneva at a Uefa workshop last week. Ancelotti used the gathering to continue rebuilding relations with a rather special former Chelsea coach. "I had a problem with Mourinho in my last season at Milan. Sometimes he spoke in the newspapers about me so I answered in the newspapers. There was not a good relationship. The same thing happened before our game with Inter in the Champions League last season.
"I spoke with him before the game. “We don't have to have this kind of argument in the newspapers. It's better to close this'. Now I have a very good relationship with him. He sent me a text message after the Premier League victory – 'Champagne'.' He sent me a message before the start of the league season. I sent him a message at Madrid: 'Good luck for the new adventure'.'' Some within the game felt Mourinho was jealous of Ancelotti. "Jealous of me?! No!'' Because of his gilded playing career. "Ah, as a player! I don't know! Now we have a very good relationship. We stayed two days in Geneva with the other coaches and it was good.
"I would like to watch a training session of Mourinho, Ferguson or Wenger. I can really improve. If they asked to come here, I am happy. Three years ago, in that (Uefa) meeting, I asked if I or an assistant could watch others' training sessions but some coaches were not happy about this.
"When I finished my career as a player, I went and watched [Giovanni] Trapattoni and Marcello Lippi training. I watched Roy Hodgson training Switzerland. He prepares training sessions fantastically well. That was very important for me to see.'' There's somebody else he'd like to meet. "The Queen!'' he smiles.”She's the most important person here in England. Maybe when (Silvio) Berlusconi comes to England, I will persuade him to make me his assistant so I can meet the Queen!''
One of life's real characters, Ancelotti has written a hugely entertaining book, The Beautiful Games of an Ordinary Genius, with all royalties going to Fondazione Stefano Borgonovo, a charitable foundation dedicated to finding a cure for ALS.
"In 2006, he started to be sick. It's an illness of the nervous system. Every muscle closes down. There is only one thing that functions and that's the mind. Borgonovo speaks with his eyes; he looks at the computer, there are letters on the screen and he is able to do a word.
"Some players in Italy who were at Fiorentina and Como have this kind of illness. Borgonovo played for both teams. Someone said it could be chemicals on the grass. Someone said it could be drugs in that period when there was not good anti-doping control. Nobody knows.'' Ancelotti is determined to help find out.
